Patricia Field, fashion designer, designer for hit show Sex and the City: Many think in the fashion world (as opposed to film and TV), the pressure to come out doesn't exist. Out lesbian Field said "I don't feel a rub about my sexuality. I don't consider myself a woman or a man professionally. All the creative industry is gay, so if anything, I would almost say it's a plus." (Photo by Junko Kimura/Getty Images)

Sean Hayes: After refusing several interviews with gay news magazine The Advocate and purposefully avoiding questions about his sexuality in other interviews, the ‘Will & Grace’ star came out publicly in March, telling The Advocate "I am who I am. I was never in, as they say. Never. I believe that nobody owes anything to anybody.” (Photo by Peter Kramer/Getty Images)

Clay Aiken, American Idol contestant, singer: In a 2003 Rolling Stone interview, Aiken said “One thing I’ve found of people in the public eye, either you’re a womanizer or you’ve got to be gay. Since I’m neither of those, people are completely concerned about me.” He came out when his son was born in 2008, saying “I cannot raise a child to lie or to hide things". (Photo by Vince Bucci/Getty Images)

Neil Patrick Harris: After many years of speculation and rumor, the former 'Doogie Howser' star told People magazine in a 2006 article that he was "a content gay man." Harris had to stifle reports that he had denied being gay. (Photo by Frazer Harrison/Getty Images)

Neil Patrick Harris: After many years of speculation and rumor, the...

Neil Patrick Harris: After many years of speculation and rumor,... Photo-5306338.71881 - SFGate

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George Takei, actor, Hikaru Sulu on Star Trek Though it was an open secret for many Star Trek fans, Takei admitted to his 18 year realtionship with Brad Altman in 2001. The couple married in 2008. (Photo by Andrew H. Walker/Getty Images)

George Takei, actor, Hikaru Sulu on Star Trek Though it was an open...

George Takei, actor, Hikaru Sulu on Star Trek Though it was an... Photo-5306339.71881 - SFGate

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David Hyde-Pierce: After hit show Frasier debuted, Hyde-Pierce claimed "Basically I don't talk about my personal life." Then after years of pressure from the gay press, he came out through his publicist and confirmed his long-time relationship with a producer/director. (Photo by Bryan Bedder/Getty Images)

T.R. Knight, actor: After a fight on the set of his hit TV show, "Grey's Anatomy", in which a co-star allegedly insulted him with a gay slur, Knight said he needed to address "a few questions about my sexuality". He came out in People magazine a short while later. (Photo by Jason Kempin/Getty Images)

T.R. Knight, actor: After a fight on the set of his hit TV show,...

T.R. Knight, actor: After a fight on the set of his hit TV show,... Photo-5306341.71881 - SFGate

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Portia de Rossi, actress, formerly on Ally McBeal: Portia de Rossi was outed by a tabloid when the mag published pictures of her with then-girlfriend Francesca Gregorini. Subsequently, de Rossi married talk show host Ellen DeGeneres. (Photo by Stephen Shugerman/Getty Images)

Jodie Foster, actress: Foster has never publicly stated her sexuality and thus Out and Advocate magazines have long urged her to come out. Yet many believe she already has. During a tearful speech after winning an award at a Women in Entertainment breakfast, the actress thanked her girlfriend with a salute to "my beautiful Cydney". (Photo by Jason Merritt/Getty Images)

Jim McGreevey: “My truth is that I am a gay American.” That was how the 52nd governor of New Jersey announced to his constituents that he’d been living a double life. He confessed, with his wife by his side, about his adulterous relationship with another man under pressure. (Photo by Paul Hawthorne/Getty Images)

Ricky Martin: In a blog post on his website, he professed (after years of dogged speculation) that "I am a fortunate homosexual man. I am very blessed to be who I am." (Photo by Vittorio Zunino Celotto/Getty Images)

Ricky Martin: In a blog post on his website, he professed (after...

Ricky Martin: In a blog post on his website, he professed (after... Photo-5306345.71881 - SFGate

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Rosie O'Donnell, comedian, TV personality: O'Donnell came under fire from gay advocates who noted (after she revealed she was a lesbian) that she'd long said she had a crush on Tom Cruise. (Photo by Frederick M. Brown/Getty Images)

Rob Halford, former frontman for metal band Judas Priest: During a 1998 MTV interview, Halford (who had never actually hidden his sexual orientation) made the declaration "Speaking as a gay man ..." As he later put it, "the producer dropped his clipboard. I didn't really consider the magnitude of that moment, quite frankly. I just carried on and then, of course, the phones started ringing." (Photo by Frazer Harrison/Getty Images)

Heather Matarazzo, actress, former child star: Matarazzo, then 21 and tired of the constant questioning from the press on whether she'd found "Prince Charming", decided to answer the question honestly - she said "No, but I have a Princess Charming". (Photo by Scott Wintrow/Getty Images)

Cynthia Nixon, actress, Sex and the City's Miranda Nixon, when first asked about her relationship, said "My private life is private. But at the same time, I have nothing to hide. So what I will say is that I am very happy." Her partner was soon outed as community organizer Christina Marinoni. (Photo by Andrew H. Walker/Getty Images)

Clive Barker, author: The master of horror/fantasy/sci fi was surprised by the public reaction to a 1995 Advocate interview he did in which he admitted he was gay. He says, "Well that's because very often gayness -- and actually sexuality in general -- is seen as a problem. An issue. Instead it's simply a fact." (Photo by John M. Heller/Getty Images)

Meredith Baxter: The mom from ‘Family Ties’ decided to come out on The Today Show. Her reason? She said, “I did not want some tabloid to take the story and make it up — I wanted it to be in my own words.” (Photo by Frazer Harrison/Getty Images)

Ellen DeGeneres, comedian/actress, talk show host, American Idol judge: DeGeneres first came out on the Oprah Winfrey show and says she still feels pressure. She told the Advocate, “There was a time when people were saying I was not gay enough, that I wasn't doing enough and I wasn't an activist, and then straight people were saying, ‘She's too gay.’" (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images)

Michael Stipe, lead singer of R.E.M.: Stipe came out in a May 2001 Time Magazine article, saying "I was being made to be a coward about it, rather than someone who felt like it really was a very private thing." (Photo by Gareth Cattermole/Getty Images)

Michael Stipe, lead singer of R.E.M.: Stipe came out in a May 2001...

Michael Stipe, lead singer of R.E.M.: Stipe came out in a May... Photo-5306353.71881 - SFGate

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Dick Sargent, actor: The "Bewitched" actor came out at the age of 61 during National Coming Out Day. Why? In his own words, "it was a question of the right time and the right place. I was partially outed by 'The Star' in April, but I'd been thinking about it for almost two years." (Houston Chronicle file photo)

State Sen. Roy Ashburn, R-Bakersfield: The senator, whose voting record on gay rights was very poor, outed himself on an AM radio station. The trigger for his self-outing was a recent DUI arrest after a night at a gay club. (AP)